At the peak of Lafayette’s food truck craze, a full-course meal at a sit-down restaurant could have been consumed in the time spent in some of the lines at the monthly Food Truck Roundup. If this November’s roundup was an indicator, the once-thriving scene is running on fumes. A stark contrast to those long lines, this month saw more menu items on the A-frame, dry erase boards outside of each truck than patrons in line. Even on a beautiful cool day, barely 50 people showed up to peruse the nine vendors, a drop from past roundups, one featuring 16 trucks. Most trucks this time didn’t have a line. At the busiest, the line at Viva la Waffle — easily the most popular truck in Lafayette — was four people deep. At nearly every window, there was no wait.

“It does seem to be going through a small decline, although there are some new trucks out,” says Paul Ayo of E’s Kitchen, which puts together the roundups in Parc Lafayette. “The roundup is still popular because it is a great family friendly event. The crowds may have slimmed down a little but they are more consistent now.”

The food truck revolution kicked off in November of 2010 with Taco Mama, but found its footing in the following years, especially after Viva la Waffle hit the streets in 2011. At one point, food trucks were cooking with grease in Lafayette: new ones emerging constantly on social media, plotting out their menus and whereabouts, which both changed by the day. Random mini roundups joined the established monthly roundups, which even drew trucks from Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Trucks ventured into nearby zip codes, bringing lunch to places like New Iberia and Maurice. Often they could be found in centralized locations or well-populated office parks. It made sense: Why fight the traffic when you could get a freshly made-to-order meal that pushed epicurean boundaries in the parking lot?

Somewhere in the last four years of food truck madness, the number of trucks may have reached 20, depending on whom you ask. Today, those numbers are cut in half like a donut served up as a hamburger bun at Lil Chubs, a now defunct slider truck. Even popular vendors such as Freetown Fries — ranked at No. 16 on Deep South Magazine’s Best Food Trucks of the South — are now parked. Others on the no-roll list include: Pelon’s Mexican Hotdogs, Acadiana Grilled Cheese Company, Hibachi Hero, Pane & Vino, The Black Pot Bus and La StrEAT. Local trucks — such as Chef Gregory, Blanchard’s, The Bus Stop, Mad LuAnn’s, Mamma T’s, Rice Kings and Urbano’s Taqueria, all attendees of November’s roundup — are still rolling.

“The luster has been lost a little bit,” says Marla Kristicevich of Freetown Fries, her 2011-birthed food trailer now for sale. She and other food truck diehards are hesitant to call the scene well-done but will admit it is not as bustling as it once was.

Though they remain positive, with the list of trucks that are no longer operating it is tough to argue against a significant decline. The theories and explanations as to why are as varied as the menus the trucks offered, but none of them have anything to do with the quality or service offered at a truck. Instead, it has a lot to do with where the trucks rolled and the problems that plague small business.

“The decline may be because the restaurant business is tough and lots of work. Also a few just got regular jobs that were easier to predict,” says Ayo.

Though part of the food truck mystique, not having a permanent place also cost them, according to Tiffany Decou, the real name of Lafayette Food Junkie blogger and KPEL host. “It’s hard for people to find them. That was the biggest complaint I heard, people could not find them.”

To cure this, one popular truck is a truck no more. The Acadiana Grilled Cheese Company launched in 2013 and was immediately so popular it was not uncommon for its uncommon grilled cheese creations — think boudin or brisket and fancy cheese meltingly coexisting between two slices of grilled Evangeline Maid — to sell out. In August, it shifted to the shelter of a traditional brick and mortar one in the Uptown Lofts on Pierce Street.

“Everyone who was ever part of the scene had really good food. It’s just that it’s a tough line of work and a bit of a gamble,” says AGCC’s Dustin Aguillard. “I believe any food truck in the area could do well simply if Lafayette were larger. In my opinion food trucks are best suited for foot traffic in metropolitan cities. Not many people want to fight Lafayette traffic at noon to travel across town and stand in oppressive heat to eat at a food truck.”

For Aguillard, his bread and butter was chasing lunch breaks and setting up in office parking lots. However, it was not without its reservations. “Doing this kinda removes the romance of serving the public. Even large offices don’t guarantee a lot of sales. Factors like people on vacations, people bringing their own lunch, etc., come into play.”

Plus, made-to-order sandwiches, long lines and short breaks don’t always mix. “People want their food quickly and my product is best when you can finesse it a bit. A brick and mortar gives me the opportunity to execute each sandwich better.”

The closing of Freetown Fries is perhaps the biggest wake-up call to trucks and their followers. Offering homemade fries smothered with things like chicken curry and served with adventurous dipping sauces, Freetown Fries made itself a favorite by adhering to the food truck formula of taking a menu standard and making it stand out, like waffle sandwiches or stuffed beignets.

“It’s bittersweet. I really enjoyed doing it but there’s so many factors that you can’t control and the weather being the main one,” says Kristicevich. “In this industry, I would say that was the hardest one.” Though acclaimed for her creations, Kristicevich was no chef. Instead, with a background in art and environmental design, this was a three-year experiment to see if she could make it. Three years and a job in her field later and frying in a trailer just didn’t stick.

“We were doing well enough,” Kristicevich says. However, she didn’t find the level of success that would warrant going out full time for lunch. She is debating making a Festival International stop, as she says festivals and special events were a different story. “That was definitely worth it but not as a full time job, more of a supplemental [income].”

This idea of having a go at the food business is concurrent with a theory Decou offers that some trucks may serve as a résumé builder. “I feel that a lot of people see it as an easy way to test the waters and see if their idea is a good one or not. They fail to realize it’s still a lot of hard work. Weather and truck repairs will hurt.”

For Kristicevich there are two key factors in Lafayette that spell trouble for current and future trucks: the weather and the city’s lack of walkability.

“Overall, I think the weather down here is not conducive as much as we would have liked to have seen. For a food truck you get the four-hour window for lunch … and if it rains you’re dead. It’s a wash.”
She’s not alone in her lament. During the rainy summers of 2013 and 2014, it was hard to find food trucks. At one point in 2013, discussion of one truck’s Facebook paged turned to a shelter to drive under — be it an abandoned parking garage or gas station — to feed the masses when the skies turn gray.

If Lafayette were to develop a place for them, such as a spot at the Horse Farm or a food court, Kristicevich could fathom a revival of the scene. These spots and pedestrian friendly layouts — walkability — in cities like Austin lend to permanent spots for trucks that keep their scene rolling.

“Something like that would warrant success for the food truck industry. We just haven’t seen that yet,” Kristicevich says. “If we could really just find that great location for a food park, that’s the one part of the equation that we are missing.”

TUSCALOOSA | As Northport prepares to enact strict legislation against street-based vendors, Tuscaloosa City Hall is making policy changes related to vendors as well.

On Tuesday, the City Council will vote on whether to grant a new franchise license to Benny’s Hotdogs, the only regular street vendor in the downtown area.

Despite opposition from some downtown bar and restaurant owners, Mayor Walt Maddox has voiced his support for approving it.

But Benny’s Hotdogs, which pops up on downtown street corners during various times of the year, is an anomaly.

Several other street vendors show up only during football season, but for them to get licensed this year, they will have play by a stricter set of rules.

At the instruction of Maddox, Tera Tubbs, director of the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation, will not sign off on a franchise license for these vendors if they don’t agree to stay out of downtown parking spaces.

Tubbs said a complaint that TDOT and public safety officials have dealt with in the past is that food vendor carts, which can only operate in public rights-of-way in the downtown area, would take up multiple parking spaces and force patrons to wait in nearby spaces or in the street.

Now, these vendors will have to set up on sidewalks.

“We have so much demand for our parking places downtown,” Tubbs said. “This won’t take away from that, and it’ll keep the really big (food vendor carts) from setting up in the downtown.”

Vendors outside the downtown area will see few, if any, changes to their modes of operation.

While a franchise license — an agreement between City Hall and a private business to operate within the city’s rights-of-way — is required for downtown vending, it is not required for street vendors outside of this area.

Those operating away from downtown must obtain a vendor license only, and these vendors can set up on any patch of private property as long as the owner grants permission.

However, these vendors must meet the standards of the city’s Planning and Development Services, the Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service and the state Health Department before the vendor’s license will be issued.

And whereas Northport is poised to require these vendors to provide access to restrooms, the only demands on street vendors outside of downtown Tuscaloosa are made out of health concerns, such as having access to hot running water and having a place to store the subsequent waste water.

“They have to be able to contain (the water) and haul it away to wherever,” said Vincent Brown, associate director of the city’s Revenue Department. “They have to meet all the requirements, almost like a site-built place, but if those various departments sign off and say it’s OK, then we’ll sell them a license.”

Brown estimated that between 50 and 75 businesses have licenses to vend food on Tuscaloosa streets, but they are temporary and seasonal.

The bulk of them, he said, only become active when the University of Alabama’s home football schedule kicks off.

“They come strictly for crowds and they come from all over,” Brown said.

In Monday’s issue of The Crimson White, Bama Dining advertised a new food truck, called La Lola Loca, on the Quad in front of Graves Hall. Out of curiosity, I decided to give it a try.

I had a Loca Taco, which I thought was very good. Especially since it was something new and different than my standard Subway. They can definitely expect my return business.

La Lola Loca is a franchise-style food truck with locations on seven college campuses including the University of Florida, the University of Tennessee and Baylor University. The truck is owned and run by Bama Dining.

It surprised me, however, that the truck was playing music and used a relatively loud generator and air conditioner. This comes as a surprise only because a locally owned food truck was booted from the same spot last April. The truck, Brothers Street Eats, was founded and run by two recent UA graduates. The reason for the boot? Their generator was too loud.

According to an April 17 article of the CW, at least two professors in Graves Hall complained about the noise from the truck. Others said they did not hear a thing.

Bama Dining and UA Auxiliary Services did what they could to fix the problem but could not find a way to make the cost sensible.

According to an Aug. 21 Wall Street Journal article, the loss of revenue caused by the boot forced Brothers Street Eats to shut down.

The same article quotes Virginia Johnson, the University’s associate vice president for auxiliary services, saying, “Having a truck of our own gives us the flexibility to respond directly to our students, rather than working with off-campus vendors to address student requests.”

I know Bama Dining does surveys to generate an idea of student needs, but I personally have never even filled one out. I’d feel much more comfortable going up to two students like myself and sharing my comments. I know that my comments to them actually mean something because they truly care about the welfare of their business. I don’t feel this same connection with four minimum wage employees or their bosses in Rose.

I know many people, especially some of my co-workers, were upset to see Brothers Street Eats leave campus. I was upset to learn that the leave forced the local company to shut its doors, only to be replaced with a chain food truck company.

I understand the need to have University functions centrally managed. I also understand that having an outside company operate within the University limits creates roadblocks, but this university has a duty to its local citizens. Why outsource when there is a perfectly good substitute here locally?

Brothers Street Eats was a solid company with good food that many students enjoyed. The company had a positive impact on the University and its image. Here in the CW newsroom, bringing on Brothers Street Eats even gave us hope. It showed us that this University wasn’t all about money and that they could stick up for the little guy. Brothers Street Eats was more than just a good place to eat; it proved that this university cared more about the welfare of the city and wants and needs of its students than the money it produced.